What’s the connection between these two news items: 1) More people are buying gift cards that cover necessities like groceries, and 2) Many people are struggling to pay for medical procedures?

We didn’t see one. But two pre-paid card companies, Wired Benefits and InComm, made a connection. They’re coming out with a Visa gift card that can be used to pay for medical services through some of the largest health-care networks in the nation.
We contacted them to see if this yet-to-be-named card will be out in time for your holiday shopping, and whether or not it’s worth considering.  When we peered into the fine print of a similar offering, the Healthcare Visa Gift Card, we found a long list of drawbacks. (That card is no longer available.) We’ll fill you in when we get the lowdown on the new one.

In the meantime, if you want to buy gift cards this holiday season, we suggest you stick with ones issued by individual retailers, which tend to have fewer strings attached than those issued by credit-card companies. (Although many of those strings will be eliminated when new legislation becomes effective next year; Congress may even move the date up to December 1).

And, as you hopefully did last year, avoid retailers with shaky balance sheets. If you buy gift cards from merchants that go belly up after the holiday, they could be worth zilch.–Mandy Walker